Still Hobbled, Miller Doing What He Can

Marcus Hartman

09/22/2010

In his second game back in the Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne lineup, Braxton Miller did not do a lot, but the quarterback did enough to help the Warriors square their record at 2-2. Still fighting a sore ankle, he provided a couple of highlights in the win.

Ohio State verbal commitment Braxton Miller remained slowed by a three-week-old high-ankle sprain when he and his Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne teammates played host to undefeated foe Trotwood-Madison, but a pair of spectacular plays paved the way to all the points his team would need in a 21-7 victory Friday night.

In the first quarter, Miller got his team on the board when he lofted a pass deep down the visiting sideline for junior wide receiver Armani Miller, who leapt at the goal line and grabbed the ball away from a defender then came down just inside the pylon for a 37-yard touchdown that made it 7-0.

The Millers hooked up again in the second quarter on a play that allowed the quarterback to flash the all-around ability that prompted Scout.com to rank him the No. 1 player at that position in the country.

In the face of a heavy blitz, Miller pivoted on his tender left ankle and rolled to his left. He looked as if he might take off down the field but instead spied Armani Miller deep down the sideline and fired a long bomb to him for a play that would cover 45 yards.

"Oh man they were coming hard, blitzing from the backside, so I just rolled out to my left and just launched it down the field," the quarterback said.

Asked if he thought about running on the play, he smiled while replying, "I did, until my ankle told me, 'No, don't do it.' So I just let my arm do the work."

The Warriors set up shop in the red zone and turned to the ground game to pick up the final 19 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run by Seth Stuart.

Running was the main order of the night for Wayne as head coach Jay Minton continued to attempt to balance using his star quarterback's gifts to help his team while keeping him out of harm's way while he recuperates.

The OSU commit completed 9 of 21 passes for 133 yards with an interception and a touchdown while the Warriors mainly attacked on the ground from a variety of spread formations.

Senior running back Anthone Taylor did most of the work as he toted 27 times for 155 yards and a third-quarter touchdown that made it 21-0. Overall, the Warriors ran 44 times for 172 yards.

For the second week in a row, there were no designed runs for the quarterback. Miller's only carry was for no gain when he was forced to scramble after dropping back to pass.

A duel threat who ran for 214 yards in the season-opening loss to Cincinnati Moeller in which he suffered the ankle injury, Miller said he expects to return to full health before the season comes to an end but is around 75 percent now.

"I'm gonna get back to my old self," he said. "I can't do much right now, but my arm is doing the work."

The majority of Miller's throws against TMHS were short ones that kept him out of harm's way, but that made the overall attack rather predictable and allowed Ram defenders to begin creeping closer to the line of scrimmage to limit his options and help them stop the Wayne ground game.

"We know going in what he can do, and he did it," Minton said. "He made a great play when he had to there in the second quarter. He's sensational. He's giving us everything he's got right now."